Summary: <br> Throughout the day you are breathing, and you likely never notice your breath. Breathing doesn’t require intentional effort, your body does the work without your consciousness even catching on. Until you can’t breathe … then you know. Your awareness is hyper focused on breathing when it is threatened.<br> I went over 40 years of my life, breathing without the awareness of the source of my breath. I simply never thought about it. Where does the air you breathe come from? It was a song I sang one Sunday morning in Church that changed my breathing called “Great Are You Lord”. It says: It’s your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, pour out our praise. It’s your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise to you only.<br> Genesis 2:7 says “Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.”<br> You and I are living at this very moment because of the breath of God. It is his breath that fills our lungs. It is his breath that gives us life. You have the breath of the Almighty within you, filling you, reviving you, bringing you life. And all you have to do is receive it.<br> Once I became aware of the source of my breath, I realized my habit of shallow breathing. By habit I take in just enough to do the job. Long term shallow breathing affects your health. Your body functions in a state of continual stress, lowering your immunity and lowers your energy.<br> But even worse, shallow breathing creates shallow living.<br> Are we just skimming the surface of all that’s truly available to us? Are we never going deeper into the life God is offering us only taking in enough to just get through?<br> When I look at the beauty of creation, I can’t imagine God created all of this for us to just get by. That isn’t his heart. His creation reveals his abundance and as his most prized and precious creation, he offers this abundance to us.<br> Newborn babies breathe deep. Their bellies expand and their chest rises and falls as they take in all life has to offer. We did the same when breath was new. Then we became used to it. We just expect God’s breath to be available and we allow it no special regard.<br> Practicing deep breathing creates a whole truckload of benefits:<br> Natural painkiller.<br> Improves blood flow.<br> Increases energy level.<br> Improves posture.<br> Reduces inflammation.<br> Detoxifies the body.<br> Improves digestion.<br> Relaxes your mind and body.<br> Now think about that, all of these positive results by doing one thing … breathing deeper. And what are we doing when we breathe deeper? We are intentionally receiving MORE of God. It is his breath that fills your lungs so naturally by breathing deeper, you are receiving more of him. And more of him heals us.<br> As I’ve been practicing deep breathing, I’ve learned a few things.<br> First, I have a limited capacity. Try taking the biggest, deepest breath you’ve taken all day. Your lungs quickly filled and you don’t notice a tremendous benefit, right? I don’t necessarily feel more energized, relaxed or improved in any way.<br> It’s like trying to add God into an already packed daily routine. There’s just not a lot of room in your life, right?<br> So what’s missing here?<br> The release.<br> In order to take a bigger, deeper breath, I must first let go of all the air I currently have. Shallow breathing continually holds a little air back. To receive more, you must be fully emptied first.<br> Let’s practice. Start by emptying your lungs of all the breath you currently have in a series of only exhales. When you think all the air is out of your lungs, exhale again, there’s more. Release. Release. Release. Now inhale filling your belly expand as it receives more and more...
